Thursday, August 20, 2015

During a visit with education leaders in Louisville Wednesday, the
Republican nominee for Kentucky governor talked about preschool, teacher
pensions and charter schools.

Matt Bevin met with the group of
about 20 educators and community officials at the Jefferson County
Public Schools Van Hoose Education Center for over an hour, outlining
some of his goals for education in the state.

JCPS
Superintendent Donna Hargens said the district invited Bevin to speak
to the group -- which included members of the Jefferson County Education
Foundation, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and at one
point, five members of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

The
meeting was not advertised on the district's website and was not part
of a formal school board meeting, rather more of an informal discussion
on topics that are important to the community, Hargens said.

Bevin's
opponent in the gubernatorial race, Kentucky Attorney General Jack
Conway has also been invited to visit with the same group of education
officials in Louisville.

During the meeting, Bevin spoke about a number of hot-button education issues.

He reiterated an earlier stance that he doesn't believe the federal Head Start program is effective.

"We've
put $170 billion plus into that program...are there smarter ways we
could use those monies, more creative ways, ways that are designed to do
the exact same thing," Bevin said.

"Everybody wants the same result.
Sometimes I think we recreate and reinvent things that are working but
we don't look at things that are not working."

The comment drew
the immediate ire of the Kentucky Democratic Party, which sent out a
press release Tuesday afternoon saying Bevin "doubled down" on
his opposition to early childhood education programs like Head Start.

"Bevin's
views about early childhood education are not only inaccurate, they are
offensive to Kentucky's teachers and students -- but at least he's
telling the truth to this group about his opposition to these vital
programs," said David Bergstein of the Kentucky Democratic Party.

But
in an interview after the meeting with WDRB News, Bevin said he simply
wants to ensure the government is "educating our young people to the
maximum potential at the most affordable price possible."

"We need
to look at public education dollars at every level -- from
pre-kindergarten to post-secondary," he said. "That means if we are not
getting the results we want at any of those levels, lets re-evaluate
what we are doing and find better ways to accomplish the task."

Bevin also addressed his support of exploring the possibility of allowing charter schools in Kentucky.

"Truth
be told, we have schools that are not working," he said. "They've not
been working for some time. Kentucky, as a whole, we are not where we
would like to be or where I believe we could be academically relatively
to other states."

Bevin said he believes opponents to charter
schools are "so resistant to the idea of it that we don't even want to
talk about it."

"This is how we got into the (teacher) pension
crisis, this is how we got into a whole lot of other things. Everybody
wants to ignore it," Bevin said. "It needs to be addressed."

On
the topic of the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System, which is currently
underfunded, Bevin said he believes the state should "freeze the
existing plans exactly as they are" and come up with a different
solution, suggesting that Kentucky move to a defined contribution plan.

"We are playing a shell game making people believe that everything is good," he said. "And things are not good."

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So far as we know, we only get one lifetime. So, when I "retired" in 2004, after 31-years in public education I wanted to do something different. I wanted to teach, write and become a student again. I have since spent a decade in higher ed.

I have listened to so many commentaries over the years about what should be done to improve Kentucky's schools - written largely by folks who have never tried to manage a classroom, run a school, or close an achievement gap. I came to believe that I might have something to offer.

I moved, in 1985, from suburban northern Kentucky to what was then the state’s flagship district - Fayette County. I have had a unique set of experiences to accompany my journey through KERA’s implementation. I have seen children grow to graduate and lead successful lives. I have seen them go to jail and I have seen them die. I have been amazed by brilliant teachers, dismayed by impassive bureaucrats, disappointed by politicians and uplifted by some of Kentucky’s finest school children. When I am not complaining about it, I will attest that public school administration is critically important work.

Democracy is run by those who show up. In our system of government every citizen has a voice, but only if they choose to use it.

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On the campaign trail...with my wife Rita

An action shot: The Principal...as a much younger man.

Faculty Senate Chair

Serving as Mace Bearer during the Inauguration of Michael T. Benson as EKU's 12th president.

Teaching

EDF 203 in EKU's one-room schoolhouse.

Professin'

Lecturing on the history of Berea College to Berea faculty and staff, 2014.

Faculty Regent

One in a long series of meetings. 2016

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